


Trip Sitter, Sorta

by benschwartz



Category: Space Force (TV)
Genre: Boys In Love, Confessions, Drugs, M/M, chan chases him around the base, just edibles lol, they’re awkward and sweet, tony is high on accident
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-18 17:42:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28871019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/benschwartz/pseuds/benschwartz
Summary: Tony accidentally gets high at work and Chan watches over him.
Relationships: Chan Kaifang & F. Tony Scarapiducci, Chan Kaifang/F. Tony Scarapiducci
Comments: 5
Kudos: 16





	Trip Sitter, Sorta

**Author's Note:**

> i feel like this is a mess lmao i forgot to post it earlier but it’s a little not good. they’re awkward but it’s endearing i think.

Tony is pretty sure the breath strips he’s been using all morning were actually edibles. Maybe it was gross, but he was in a hurry this morning and forgot to brush his teeth, so when he found breath strips in a tin in his car, he ate two and pocketed them before walking into work. Every five minutes he would check his breath and find nothing much had changed, so he kept eating more.

In Tony’s defense, he forgot they existed, otherwise they would have already been gone. Now, an hour and a half into the work day, Tony was in the control room and staring at the back of Chan’s head like it was the Mona Lisa. When Naird said something to him, Tony turned his head to look, but the motion blur on the world made his brain slow down. It was probably a good idea to drink water. 

“What?” Tony spoke in the middle of Naird’s sentence. 

“Just go Twitter about the launch, Tony,” he sighed defeatedly. Lunch sounded like a good idea. 

When Tony started walking, he realized what was going on. The world was moving like that Avril Lavigne music video he watched on repeat as a teenager; his body was still but everything was blurred around him. He took the little tin out of his breast pocket and realized he’d probably just injested 200mg of THC without meaning to. It’s not like he’d never been high at work before, but this was different. The world was literally melting around him, and he was hungry. Fuck was he hungry. 

Tony ordered four baskets of fries, a burger, and two corn dogs from the cafeteria without any critical thought behind the action. It took him ten minutes to eat one basket of fries because he kept getting distracted by his hands. Somewhere in the middle of his cheeseburger, Chan sat down across from him with a bewildered look. 

“Fuck Tony,” he started hesitantly, “Are you okay?”

“Oh God, no,” he giggled. His voice was deeper than usual, more languid, as if he were listening to his voice as he spoke. Chan took notice of how relaxed he looked. “I ate so many breath strips, I’m so hungry.”

“Right.” Chan watched in awe as Tony scarfed down the rest of his burger and the two corn dogs on the table. Nothing he had just said made any sense to Chan, but it seemed like he was right about being hungry. The breath strips were lost on him still though. 

“I should probably have another, I just ate a lot—wait no, Tony,” he shook his head and then nodded to himself proudly, a wide grin spread across his face making his eyes smaller than they should have been. When he started to smack his lips and swallow repeatedly, touching his greasy fingers to his face in confusion, Chan became more concerned. Was he choking? “I’m so thirsty. Do you have water?” 

“Stay here.” Chan held his hand out as if he were addressing a skittish animal, but Tony only smiled and continued eating. How could he still be hungry?

When Chan returned with a couple bottles of water, Tony was nowhere to be found, his half eaten fries abandoned on the table. Of course. By this point, the scientist had put two and two together and realized Tony had probably eaten a special brownie for breakfast—though he had said the breath strips made him hungry. Perhaps Chan would look into Listerine edibles. 

First, he had to find Tony. The Space Force base wasn’t exactly small, so this would be a grueling task, but Chan didn’t want Tony to get into any trouble. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, he liked Tony, maybe more than he should. Work could wait, he had a stoned publicist to find. 

Logical as ever, Chan decided to check the immediate area for any sign of Tony, asking whoever he could if they had seen the man. A recruit claimed he had wandered outside, which was just his luck, honestly. 

Meal Armstrong was the first place he checked, because he knew Tony was a bottomless pit at the moment. Erin was scrolling on her phone when he approached the stand, and she didn’t bother looking up. 

“What’s up doc,” she smacked her gum loudly along with her Bugs Bunny impression.

“Have you seen Fuck Tony? He’s—“

“Tripping balls? Yeah,” she laughed and sat her phone down. “Two ice cream cones, towards the atrium. There’s ice cream all over his face.” Erin handed him a wad of napkins. “Good luck with your stoner boyfriend.”

“We’re not—“

“Don’t care.” She was already mindlessly scrolling through her phone again, and Chan was almost annoyed. He didn’t have the heart to be. If Naird was his father, he’d be pissy too. 

With a newfound determination and a handful of napkins, Chan was speed walking to the atrium. The windows warped his reflection, and he was certain Tony had spent at least a minute dancing in front of them, entertained by the way they made the world melt. Chan’s phone pinged with a Twitter notification, and dread immediately filled his stomach. Even though he was a man of science, he prayed to God Tony hadn’t tweeted from the Space Force account. 

**Space Force** @realspaceforce

_ Higher than the rocket ship about to launch this week or whatevs _

Attached was a picture of Tony sitting on the ledge of the spiral staircase in the atrium. Chan took off running to the entrance of the atrium, panicking his ass off about Tony’s motor skills and inhibitions. What if he’d fallen off the ledge?

Meanwhile, Tony was spinning with his arms spread wide through the atrium, having the time of his life. Every laugh echoed off the high ceiling, and every breath was crisp and clean. The air tasted like morning dew and the plants were extra green. Tony ventured into the foliage and sat with his back against a thin tree, feeling the leaves tickle his face and leave him giggling. When he opened his eyes, he saw Chan walking towards him quickly and he suddenly remembered that he had left him alone in the cafeteria. For a moment he thought he would cry because he felt so guilty. 

“Tony,” he seemed a bit breathless as he sat on the bench nearest his friend. “I brought you water and napkins.” Before he could say anything more, Tony was chugging the first water bottle like his life depended on it, and little drops of water dribbled down his chin. 

“What?” Chan could only laugh as Tony looked at him with big eyes and an open mouth. The laugh made his expression go soft and melt into a goofy grin. “I like making you laugh.”

Chan tried not to blush as he wiped the ice cream and water off Tony’s face, but it was hard with two big, brown eyes burning his cheeks pink. Tony felt like he was looking at the prettiest person alive, and as far as he was concerned, he was.

“What did you take?” Chan threw the napkins and water bottle in a nearby trash can, and when he turned back, Tony was sipping at the other bottle, only much less fervently. 

“Forgot to brush my teeth, ate some breath strips that I’m pretty sure weren’t breath strips.” Chan’s hypothesis had been right. “I ate way too many, the world is happening like three times. I can see echoes.”

Chan couldn’t help but laugh again. “Are you okay, though?”

“I love when you laugh. You’re so pretty.” Tony’s eyes went wide and he laughed nervously. “Fuck, I’m really high.”

“You could’ve fooled me.” Chan smiled lopsidedly. “You’re pretty, too.”

“Seriously?” Tony’s eyes lit up in a way Chan had never seen before. Hopefulness danced in the shine of his blown out pupils, and his smile was so soft it made his heart ache. “I didn’t know you thought that.”

“I didn’t know you did either.” Chan shrugged. Asking questions might be taking advantage of Tony’s state, but he was curious. Was he hiding feelings under his detached and fast exterior? 

“What else do you think?” It was as if Tony had plucked the question from Chan’s mind and turned it back around on him. 

“I think you’re far too intoxicated for us to be having this conversation.” Tony stuck his chin out indignantly and crossed his arms, letting out an annoyed little huff at Chan’s refusal. 

“Humor me,” he whined and let his head fall against the tree behind him. The way his head lulled made him feel like a rag doll, and Chan watched dotingly as he rolled his neck all around. He looked ridiculous. “Please.”

“Okay,” Chan shifted to fully face Tony, his feet hitting the mulch that barely kept the plants alive. “I think you’re annoying.” Chan’s smile was far too telling, and there was no bite to his words, but Tony feigned offense and scoffed anyway, deciding to play along.

“And you’re boring,” he retorted with just as much endearment. “God, I can’t even pretend to mean that, right now I’m so gone. Like crazy high. You’re the most interesting person I’ve ever met. I know you and Angela have a thing, but—“

“Angela’s a lesbian,” Chan laughed as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Tony should have known, and it did make sense, but he was too blinded by teenage jealousy to let logic impede. “If you’re trying to confess, you should know I like you too.”

Tony shot up excitedly, but instantly thumped back against the trunk of the tree. Every move was an instinct for him, and he grabbed Chan’s hand tightly, as if to ground himself. As if he would float off in happiness. 

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Chan shrugged, offering that as an answer and nothing more. Maybe Tony was just oblivious, because Angela had told him time and time again how obvious his crush was. 

“Come on, you can sit in the lab with me until you’re back to normal.” When he stood, he didn’t let go of Tony’s hand, instead opting to drag him across the base and back to the lab. 

Tony was mumbling to himself and looking all around, filled with the wonderment of a small child or a very high middle aged man. Despite his wandering eyes, he didn’t seem to notice the stares from everyone as Chan pulled him through the hallways. 

“Hi Angela!” He waved as they passed by, and she offered a smug look when she noticed their intertwined hands. “Bye Angela!”

“She’s never going to let me live this down,” Chan mumbled under his breath, but Tony wasn’t letting it go. 

“Why?” He rested his chin on Chan’s shoulder and was trying not to stumble over either of their feet, but it was nearly impossible with how close he was pressed against Chan’s back. 

“Because I deny it every time she says I like you,” he didn’t bother trying to masquerade his feelings. If Tony was going to be blunt and mushy, he would be blunt at the very least. Mushy was a level he wasn’t ready to step to. 

Chan let go of Tony’s hand to open the lab with his keycard, and the way Tony eagerly pulled his hand back once the door was open made him smile to himself. Maybe he was the oblivious one if Tony really did like him that much. 

“Are you in denial?” Tony asked broadly.

“About what?” Chan raised an eyebrow at Tony before beginning to tidy his work station. It was already clean, but he couldn’t look at Tony for too long or he would start to stare. 

“Your feelings. Gay shit.” Tony found a swivel chair in one corner of the lab and pushed it along before jumping in the seat and rolling along the floor. Chan didn’t speak, so Tony sat in the chair and walked it over to his table, letting his chin rest on the edge. “Do you not want to like me?”

Chan turned to look at Tony and saw his big red eyes looking up at him. They looked sad, almost. 

“I just don’t like to admit when Angela’s right,” Tony visibly softened in relief. “I want to like you. If you like me, that is.”

“Cool.” His curls bounced as he fell back in the chair, allowing himself to stare at Chan when he usually wouldn’t. If he noticed that the scientist wasn’t working as much as he was blushing, he didn’t say anything. “Can I touch your hair?”

Chan was caught off guard by the question, but he certainly wasn’t upset. “Can I touch yours?” Tony smiled and spun in the chair, pushing towards Chan and bowing his head. He wasn’t expecting him to take his request seriously, and he wasn’t even sure he’d taken it seriously himself, but he certainly wouldn’t pass up the opportunity. 

With a tentative reach, Chan let his fingers nestle in the neat curls slicked back on Tony’s head. From its appearance, Chan expected his hair to be sticky and covered in product, but he found that it was surprising soft and fluffy. Tony hummed pleasantly at the feeling of fingers lightly scratching at his scalp, and a warm shiver ran down his spine. Wanting more, he let his cheek rest on Chan’s stomach as the man played with his hair, and Chan was certain Tony could hear the swarm of butterflies in his stomach. 

They had the lab to themselves, but Chan found himself embarrassed at the public display. If someone had seen them like this, he would be mortified, but when he looked down at Tony, smiling and nuzzling his head against Chan, he didn’t care as much. 

“This feels amazing, like when a dog tries to eat your hair,” Tony hummed. Chan couldn’t help the hearty laugh that escaped him, that was the most ridiculous thing he’d ever heard. The vibrations made Tony’s head spin. 

“What does that even mean?” Tony pulled back to look up at Chan, who was smiling brightly. 

“Can I touch your hair now? Switch me,” Tony stood and swiftly pushed Chan to sit where he once was, and before he knew it, Chan was against Tony’s stomach with his hands carding through his hair. His cologne smelled soft and warm, and as awkward as he had felt earlier, he felt comforted now. 

Chan had always struggled with physical affection, especially with other men. Though he’d always known that he’s gay, he had never been shown much affection at home—his parents loved him plenty, they just weren’t the affectionate type—and he was certain that contributed to his touch aversion. Now, though, he found himself wanting to stay here with Tony’s hands in his hair and his cologne in his nose.

“You smell good,” Chan mumbled against Tony’s shirt. 

“I think I’m starting to come down,” Tony said absently, leaning down to kiss the top of Chan’s head. “It’s been like three hours.”

“It’s been one,” Chan smiled. “You’re still high.”

“Shit,” Tony laughed. “Maybe. Can I use that as an excuse to invite you to dinner at mine tonight? I’m making creamy farfalle. Shit, that sounds really good right now.”

“You cook?” Chan seemed surprised, but it made sense. Tony usually had tupperware full of something homemade for lunch, though he might have assumed he had a significant other to make him dinner. That could have been the irrational part of Chan’s brain making an uncharacteristic appearance. 

“All the time. I love food,” he groaned appreciatively and let go of Chan’s hair, now leaning against the desk with a fond look in the other man’s direction. “And I’m really good at cooking, so you should come over for dinner.” Chan realized he still hadn’t answered his question. 

“Yeah, I’ll come over tonight. No way am I letting you drive though.” Tony just laughed; he was okay with taking the passenger’s seat as long as he got to hold Chan’s hand the whole way. 

**Author's Note:**

> oh my god this sucks so bad ajdjfkg sorry yall i’m not on my game


End file.
